Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants Southern Naiad

I have a 1/2 acre pond that has dpths ranging from 4' to 12'. It has southern naiad in it. I would guess that 50% of the pond is covered(submerged)with it.

I am thinking about using WeedPlex Pro help control it and I would like to treat 3-4 spots/areas of the pond at a time (to prevent oxygen depletion).

How strong of a solution would you make with WeedPlex Pro? What is the best way to apply this? Do you just mix it with water and use a sprayer to apply to the pond?

Thanks for any help.

wmauarer,

Welcome to Pond Boss. Somehow your question has slipped past everybody. Southern naiad (bushy pondweed) is not something I have any experience with. But, hopefully putting this back up near the top will attract one of our weed experts.

Again, welcome.

Ken

See the label. It has the answers.

http://www.sancoind.com/labels/WeedPlex_Pro_Quart_PA.pdf

See this for control methods.

http://aquaplant.tamu.edu/database/submerged_plants/southern_naiad_mgmt.htm

I did read the label and hopefully applied enough to the areas I am trying to start with. The label on the front says the 32oz make 100 gallons of solution...So I mixed 8oz with 25 gallons of water in my sprayer. Then I went to four different areas of the pond and sprayed it out. But the label seemed vague to me...Maybe I am looking for more exact directions?!

After 24 hours the primrose I had has taken a hit and starting to turn brown. The southern naiad has not had any visible difference.

Does having a bottom aerator/diffusers make a difference when applying herbicide? Does the water movement lessen the effect the herbicide has if you are trying to treat certain areas? Does the aerator need to be turned off or should you plan to just leave it on and treat the entire pond?

Does having a bottom aerator/diffusers make a difference when applying herbicide? -- yes it can

Does the water movement lessen the effect the herbicide has if you are trying to treat certain areas? -- yes it can

Does the aerator need to be turned off -- no but it should be considered - possibly moved.

...or should you plan to just leave it on and treat the entire pond -- no as you could kill all the plants including the plankton and cause a DO crash killing your fish?

I finished putting out the bottle of Weed PlexPro and had minimal results. The shallow end showed some clearing, but the deep end of the pond showed nothing.

I finally decided to spend a day doing manual removal. I used a raft and a rake and started pulling out naiad from the deep end. It came out easy and was like pulling in a huge rope! For the shallow end I used an old homemade rebar ladder, rope, and tractor. I would walk out the ladder, drop it in, and pull it out with the tractor.

I cleared out most of the pond and after it dried on the pond's edge I moved it to the backside of the pond with the tractor. I ended up with what appeared to be 15 yard dump truck load of dried bushy pond weed.

The pond looked so much better the next day! I added one small bottle of 'black out' to help restrict some sun light and prevent regrowth. But the black out still leaves the water fairly clear.

After a few days I can already see some spots of the naiad reaching the surface again in the deep end. Looks like it is time for more manual labor! It either grows very fast or some if it has come loose from all the other removal. But I have also noticed a small algae bloom starting and hoping for more. I guess taking out that much naiad has finally opened up nutrients for something else.

How fast can naiad grow? Height in inches per day?

Any suggestions? Comments?

Have you given any thought to buying some grass carp? About ten would do if you have 50% coverage. It is much safer at this time of the year than trying to use herbicides, especially if you are unfamiliar with them. I have never used weedplex, but diquat of any name is very sensitive to mud so if you stir any up while aplying you will neutralize it. You also must apply it at the proper depths the weeds are growing and in proper fashion as to not kill too much at one time or you may also kill your fish.

-HH

I think you will be fighting an uphill battle trying to remove it manually without putting some type of herbicide or biological control with it. And yes, take one plant out of the nutrient food line, something else usually takes it place. I cannot beleive how fast naiad grows and gets dense. Kind of a new plant around here, but I am seeing more and more of it. Maybe maually pull it, then herbicide, then add some carp for good measure. This could be a long term solution. Unless you completely kill it off with a slow release fluridone product, it will return the way you are working it now. The aerator is actually working against you also.

I put in two grass carp back in January. I only put in two because at the time I did not have any kind of vegetation problem. I added 5 lbs of tilapia at the end of April, but I don't know if they will help out with the naiad.

Weedplex Pro...I was concerned about how to apply it as you can see from my first post in this thread. The label only tells you that the container 'Makes 100 gallons'. There are no directions on how to apply it!?

Do you think more tilapia would maybe help? I have a minnow pond that I put a few tilapia in and they have raised twice already. I would estimate that I have a ton of tilapia that are just over 2" and the second hatch are around 1". I plan to move them to my big pond within the next week.

Thanks for the help.